How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse
by Shaddowwww
Summary: AU. Slightly OOC. Kagome Higurashi used to be such an innocent 15-year-old. When the zombie apocalypse hits, it takes everyone by surprise. She and her friends need to work together to escape the undead. Will they ever find love in such an environment, or will they get infected first? {Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rated T for blood, gore, and a shameful amount of profanity.}
1. The Beginning

Full Summary:

 _AU. Slightly OOC. Kagome Higurashi used to be such an innocent 15-year-old. When the zombie apocalypse hits, it takes everyone by surprise. She and her friends need to work together to escape the undead. Will they ever find love in such an environment, or will they get infected first?_

* * *

 _ **~ How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse ~**_

 _The Beginning_

* * *

Adrenaline runs through my veins, my heart pumping painfully.

"Kagome!"

I turn to my friend. "What? I'm kind of busy!"

"You're running in the wrong direction!"

 _Huh?_ I stop, confused, and look around. Everyone's laughing, and I'm blushing. Inuyasha Takahashi, a huge jerk (and I'm also ashamed to say, my best friend), is smirking at me.

He jumps down from his chair and doubles over with laughter. I glare daggers at him, but that seems to make him laugh harder.

"Would you shut up!" I shout. Even Sango is laughing at me, and now I'm trying hard to resist a laugh myself.

"Stop!" By now, giggles are beginning to make their way past my lips.

Everyone spends the remaining three minutes of class laughing their heads off. I can't breathe. But maybe it's because I'm laughing too.

"Oh my God, that's the best thing ever!" Sango guffaws. "I can't stop laughing!"

Inuyasha is thumping his foot on the ground now, his eyes shut tight, tears of laughter streaming down his face. "Ahahahaah! You should've seen your goddamn face! AHAHAHAA!"

I stumble over to him and punch him in his shoulder, but because of my shaking arms and shoulders and wiping tears from my face, it barely fazes him and he gives me a wry look - while laughing.

"Class, you're dismissed," the teacher says grumpily. I guess she had been trying hard to get our attention… but no one _was_ paying attention. Whoops.

We make our way to the locker rooms, where we proceed to get changed. I slip on my red plaid flannel shirt and my black leggings, tying my black leather jacket around my waist. Sango sports a loose t-shirt and a pair of jeans that reaches her lower calf before rolling up a little.

The other girls are only halfway done before an alarm blares and the school's speaker that is located in the corner of the locker room crackles to life.

" _EMERGENCY,"_ the speaker blasted. _"THERE IS AN OUTBREAK OCCURRING. THE SCHOOL IS ON LOCKDOWN. DON'T GO ANYWHERE. STUDENTS, YOU ARE COMMANDED TO STAY WHERE YOU ARE."_ An outbreak? Like a _zombie_ outbreak? Keeping students locked in is _such_ a smart thing to do. Way to totally spread the contagiousness. That's exactly like keeping three people with strep throat in the same room as five other people who aren't sick at all. We're better off away from each other, honestly. Were they stupid, or were they stupid?

The background noise is deafening, making it difficult to hear exactly what the warning is. It sounds like screaming and growling. What the fuck's going on?

" _I REPEAT - STUDENTS, STAY WHERE YOU ARE. AUTHORITIES WILL ARRIVE SOON TO TAKE CARE OF THE SITU-"_

The person speaking is abruptly cut off as they were mid-scream but then there is a sound as if their head is being ripped off. A disembodied growl. And then nothing.

The students shudder.

Of course, the school's warning works just like the "18+" warning on a porn website, and immediately there are horrified screams as people all over the school rush to get the fuck out of here.

After swinging my hair into a messy bun, I grab my bag and begin dumping everything out of it, getting Sango's attention. I nod at her, and she does the same before we sling our bags over our shoulders. Apparently the boys did the same, because they, too, hold empty backpacks as they wait for Sango and I to run over to them. They probably feel just as bewildered and frightened as we do.

"Come on," I shout to them over the chaos. "This is obviously a zombie outbreak. Maybe we can find a few weapons somewhere."

They nod and, moving in the opposite direction of the other kids, we immediately make our way towards the kendo training room. Inuyasha and I both take a new, clean, and seemingly unused katana from the training rack and test them out, clashing them against each other, like we used to when we were younger.

Soon we bolt out of the kendo room. In the next room over, there's the baseball equipment, so Sango and Miroku each grab a metal bat.

Sango swings the bat between her fingers effortlessly. "So, where are we going?" she asks.

"Kagome, you're the one into horror movies and shit," Inuyasha says to me. "What first?"

"First, we find necessary necessities," I say. "The day isn't going to last forever. We each need flashlights. Ones that crank, so we don't need to worry about batteries."

"I think I saw a couple of those in the Janitor's closet after I spilled milk in the cafeteria yesterday," Miroku chimes in helpfully. "We can go check that out. Maybe we'll find more stuff in there, too."

"Good idea," I say. "After that we'll check out the nurse's office."

"Should we split up?" Sango asks. "Two of us can go to the janitor's closet while the other two can go to the nurse's office. It'll be efficient. Then we can meet up somewhere, outside the school maybe?"

I'm already shaking my head before she can finish. "No," I say. "Splitting up is the absolute _worst_ thing to do during a zombie apocalypse. That's like suicide. It's better to travel in bigger numbers or, at least, in a small group. _Never_ leave the group. That's a _rule_ from now on. I don't give a shit about your pride - this is a matter of fucking life and death. Okay?"

Slightly shaken, everyone nods.

"Also," I add, "I'm not sure if this applies to real life, but zombies only react to sound. Maybe movement. Try to move as quietly as possible."

Everyone nods again.

"Good," I say. "Now, let's go get those flashlights."

* * *

"Awesome!"

There were enough cranking flashlights for each of us. We also found some hand sanitizer, which would come in handy before eating food if there was no clean water anywhere. There were a couple bars of soap, so we took those as well.

There wasn't anything else really helpful in there except for a bunch of stuff for cleaning. Everyone agreed that we should only take what we need. That way, we'll take up less space in our backpacks; they'll be easier to carry and won't slow us down.

"Alright," I say, taking a step towards the closed door. "We're going to the nurse's office now. Keep your eyes peeled and _never, ever_ , under any circumstances let your guard down. Zombies have a horrible tendency to show up in the most inconvenient, unexpected places."

Everyone nods and the door opens with a soft _swish_. Luckily, there aren't any undead students or teachers in the hallway that we're in - for now. We manage to find the janitor's closet that's located on the far side of the school, where no one really goes until after school. This part of the school consists of mostly classes that involve after-school activities or club meetings. I'm a member of the high school Executive Council, so I know this part of the school very well.

"Let's go," I mouth.

 _Whatever you do…_

We make our way silently to the end of the hall, where we make a left turn, exit the side stairs, and go down another hallway towards the health room.

… _don't scream._

I open the door, raising my sword in case there's a zombie inside. Fortunately, the office is empty. The nurse probably high-tailed it out of there the moment the alarm began blaring.

"Great," I say. "I don't know where everything is situated, so feel free to snoop around a bit. _Be careful._ "

Everyone nods as we sneak off towards separate areas of the smaller rooms.

We gather items that will be useful for us in long-run, so after we finish gathering stuff, we decide what we will keep and what we will leave behind.

I find the medicine cabinet and fish out two bottles each of Advil, Tylenol, Claritin, and Sudafed, as well as a First Aid Kit and an unused tube of neosporin. Inuyasha finds bottled water in the teacher's lounge that was in the next room, so he gets four bottles for each of us and a few extras, plus a few sandwiches and any other remaining food that isn't moldy. Apparently, there was a watch that someone never claimed, so he took that as well after ensuring that the watch was accurate. When he's finished, the refrigerator is almost completely empty. Good. We'll need a lot of food.

Sango finds a box of matches that were in the other room. Why they were there is beyond me, but I don't complain as Sango puts them in a plastic bag that, miraculously, hadn't been dumped out of her school bag and places it in a smaller pocket. Miroku finds a map of Japan in the nurse's office, so he pockets that. He also finds six pocket knives and a shotgun in the nurse's desk. He takes the packs of ammunition that was left behind there as well. Not creepy at all, but useful.

And _stupid._

Come on, man, you had a fucking _gun_ in your desk! How stupid can you be?

We meet up back where we entered, and we all share a nod. Miroku gives Sango the gun, because she is probably the most familiar with them, what with her spending a week or two in the woods hunting with her father once or twice a year. She checks to see if the gun is loaded (it is) before placing it into her bag in an easily accessible pocket, making sure the slide of the gun hasn't been previously pulled. He also hands us each a single pocket knife and puts the extras back where he found them.

Inuyasha is the first to open the door. There are only a few stray zombies now, and from the look of the watch that he took, it's still only 12:30. We should be having lunch right about now.

 _On a normal day, at least,_ I think with a sigh.

Suddenly there's a growl. Inuyasha and I share a smirk as we step forward, Miroku and Sango behind us. We use our swords to kill the zombies.

"Aim for the head," I say quietly, but loud enough so everyone can hear as I easily behead a zombie. "That's what's keeping them alive."

Everyone nods again before we make our way silently down the side stairs again to go to the first floor of the school.

"Too many," Sango gasps.

There are still students screaming, trying to avoid the zombies, yet running straight into the horde.

"How stupid can you be?" Inuyasha scoffs, referring to the sight ahead. "If you're going to be that thick, you deserve to get infected."

I cannot help but silently agree with him. A top ten list of what _not_ to do during a zombie apocalypse does exist, and they're doing number one - _Never confront the horde._ It's a no-brainer. I mean, come on. That's like walking up to the same guy who killed your neighbor, who has a bloody chainsaw in his hands. You can't just expect not to be killed.

It's not like their crazed state would help them survive for very long anyway. They were all hysterical.

Man, none of these guys have ever watched a horror movie in their _lives._

I shake my head sadly as most of the students get bitten, wincing at their screams as I do so. It's even more pathetic to see other students pushing others into the red zone. How could you live with yourself, knowing you're the cause of the death of a fellow classmate?

"Let's go," Sango said.

We're just about to exit the school when there's a scream.

"Help!" someone screams. It's a girl. "Help us!"

We all turn immediately and begin rushing toward the source. Luckily, the girls aren't that far away, but we'd have to go back inside, which means facing another horde of undead students.

Everyone takes a deep breath and then we begin swinging, killing zombies left and right.

There are a few complications, because in Sango's zombie-killing frenzy, she almost beheads me. I duck in the nick of time, feeling the bat hit the top of my bun, and slowing Sango's movements slightly.

"Watch where you're aiming that thing!" I hiss at her, but she doesn't hear me. However, she does send me an apologetic look.

It happens before I can smile back.

All it took was a split second, because a split second was all a zombie needed.

Its arms outstretched, it lunges at Sango, who is screeching, and in so much shock she can't bring her bat up in time.

" _NO!"_ I scream.

Sango's screaming, and I can't hear myself think. The zombie dips its head and its mouth ventures lower, lower, lower…

Blood splashes.

" _SANGO!"_

* * *

 **a/n: wow. what a cliffhanger. also, i noticed that people are nodding too much in the first chapter. i'll try to keep the nodding at a minimum, sorry.**

 **hope you enjoyed! don't forget to review! :)**


	2. Saving Three

**disclaimer: i own nothing.**

 **since i've gotten a guest review from someone and i can't respond to them via PM, i decided to to this other thing where i will respond to said reviews here :)**

 _ **guest reviews:**_

 _ **Guest: hahahahaah i'm an evil little writer;))) !1!1!1!11 i've been called that multiple times actually.**_

* * *

I don't even know what happened.

Sango is on the floor, clutching her arm, breathing heavily. Blood sprayed, and it's on her arms. Inuyasha's holding her shoulders while gazing up at me.

I'm standing over the slain zombie, panting, my eyes wide with tears. The zombie's mouth is still open, and its teeth are covered in blood.

But not Sango's blood.

If I had attacked and killed the zombie half a second later, Sango would've been bitten.

But she wasn't.

I take one last breath and then collapse as I exhale, my knees giving out. Tears of fear and relief stream down my face, knowing that Sango was almost killed but she is alive and unhurt.

Inuyasha leaves Sango's side to catch me, and I can feel his breath against my neck. I shiver involuntarily.

"You okay?" he whispers, and I nod, wiping the tears from my face, my arms and shoulders shaking.

Funny, I was doing the same thing not three hours ago, but now it's for a different reason. The thought makes me cry a little more.

Inuyasha holds me silently, his body spreading warmth throughout mine. He holds me tighter as I try to control my tears and end up hiccuping.

"Don't try to stop them," he says softly in my ear. "Just let it out. It's okay."

But it's not okay.

It's not fair.

Everyone else is so strong. _Sango's_ the one who was almost killed, not me.

 _Why am I so fucking weak?_

"The only reason why we're still alive right now is because of you, Kagome," Inuyasha says firmly. "You're anything _but_ weak. You're the bravest, strongest, most amazing person I know."

 _Did I say that out loud?_

"Yes, you did," Sango says, chuckling, her voice still shaking slightly.

There's a moment of silence, and despite the circumstances, Miroku begins chuckling. Then Inuyasha joins in, then Sango, then me.

We're not laughing hard. It's more nervous laughter than anything else, but somehow I find comfort in that and stand up.

"Come on," I say, the last of my tears dried. "We've got lives to save."

"That's the spirit," Inuyasha says, smirking.

* * *

After around five minutes of more zombie killing, we manage to burst into the science room and save the girls from a small cluster of zombies who were threatening to smash the window.

"Let's go," I say to them sharply.

"Listen," Inuyasha says as we exit the school once more, "this is important. You _must_ not leave the group, and do _not_ make decisions without consoling with us first. Have you ever watched a horror movie before that includes zombies?"

They shake their heads, no.

"Do you know how to survive a zombie apocalypse?"

Another shake of the head.

"Then I recommend you listen to us."

I can't help but have a bad feeling about these girls. They seem like the type who will use others to their advantage and then leave them to die when they get the chance. But they wouldn't. Not in this case. This is life or death.

Right?

Judging from the critical look Inuyasha is giving them, I doubt he's thinking any different.

"Well," one of the girls, a redhead, says, "it looks like we're gonna be spending a lot of time together. Might as well get to know each other."

Everyone nods in agreement, so she continues, "I'm Ayame. That's Kikyo."

 _Kikyo?_

Kikyo Hinata?

As in, airheaded, popular-rich-girl Kikyo?

 _Doesn't-know-how-to-do-shit_ Kikyo?

"Hi friends!" Kikyo giggles, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at Inuyasha. He rolls his eyes in response, but that doesn't make my anger flare any less.

Everyone excluding Ayame and Kikyo share an eerily similar _oh hell, we're fucked_ look.

* * *

 **a/n: do you get the title?** _ **Saving Three?**_ **because they saved three lives? Sango, Ayame, and Kikyo?**

 **yeah okay.**

 **thanks so much for reading! don't forget to review!**

 **adios,**

 **shadow**


	3. Goddammit, Kikyo! &Treating Injuries 101

_**~ How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse ~**_

 _Goddammit, Kikyo! / Treating Injuries 101_

It's peaceful at first.

The campfire is crackling with heat, the passing shower from ten minutes ago leaving us feeling refreshed. The nearby stream sounds soft, the contained water pattering into a puddle at the end.

And then…

"NO!"

My face is getting red with frustration. I'm walking back and forth, a sign that means ' _I'm really fucking irritated and I swear to God if you make me any more angry I will rip your face off'._ Apparently, Inuyasha notices because he's snickering.

Kikyo is staring up at me, completely bewildered. She just… she doesn't get it, does she?

"How do you _not_ know how to - oh my _God…_ "

Inuyasha' snickering turns into chuckles as he struggles to get his laughter under control. Seeing this, Sango and Miroku begin snorting as well.

I ignore them, pacing for a few seconds more before turning back to her. "Listen, you have to try harder, alright? What happens when we all die from the zombies and you're left on your own?"

"I'll go to Daddy's house and live there instead," she replies. Next to her, Ayame nods in agreement.

I slap a hand to my forehead. "You… you can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

 _Oh my God, it's like teaching a five-year-old that "i before e except after c" rule! Shit! And I thought they were stupid enough!_

"Because!" My arms are flailing around helplessly. "You just can't! Your house is so far away and you don't know if it's infested with zombies!"

"But it's not," Kikyo states sourly. "We have the highest security-"

 _I don't give a shit about your fucking security!_

"Goddammit, Kikyo! You _can't_!" I snap, my words cutting cleanly across hers. I have finally lost my already shortened patience. "Do you have a _death wish_ or something?"

Kikyo's mouth closes reluctantly.

"That's what I thought. Now, look. Putting batteries into a watch isn't so hard-"

"Maybe not for you, since you obviously take the time to practice because of your nonexistent social life!"

Ayame starts laughing, and high-fives the rich girl.

Said rich girl is smirking.

Everyone's jaws drop before snapping shut and turning away. They know that pushing my buttons is _not_ a good idea.

If Kikyo didn't have a death wish before, she sure has one now. My eye twitches and I try not to explode right then and there.

Because everyone _knows_ how to put batteries into a fucking watch! What the hell!

Whether or not you have a _social life_ has absolutely _nothing_ to do with it!

"Yeah," I sneer. "My nonexistent social life. Just like _your_ nonexistent _boyfriend_."

I'm obviously referring to Inuyasha, and everyone _except_ Inuyasha picks up on it.

Kikyo's face flushes a bright red.

"And at least I know how to protect myself at times like these," I say, turning away. "You're lucky we're not assholes and didn't leave you there to die."

 _Though now I wish we did,_ I'm thinking to myself much, much later, after the sun has long set, watching Inuyasha frantically try to release his arm from the iron grip Kikyo was holding him in. Even from here, I can see her slowly tightening her hold on him.

"Please, Inu-kins? Please, please _please_ give me a date after all this?" she begged, batting her eyelashes at him.

I _think_ it was supposed to look cute? But it just ended up looking like someone - preferably me - threw a handful of sand in her face.

I shake my head. "Sorry, sugar," I say, not sounding sorry at all. "Now is _not_ the time to be scheduling dates."

Kikyo glares at me. "I think Inuyasha should answer for himself."

I give her a strange look, while Inuyasha responds gruffly, "You think I'm looking for dates at a time like this? Are you stupid?"

And then there's a deep groan.

Everyone (except the two new additions to the group) immediately jumps up, instinctively grabbing at their weapons. We wait for the zombie to appear.

The right ear on Inuyasha's head suddenly flicks toward me, and my grip tightens around my sword.

There's a growl, and someone's hands begin clumsily clawing at my shirt.

I whip around and slash at the zombie, aiming for its head and killing it instantly.

Or so I thought.

Suddenly it twitches, and its mouth latches onto my foot. I can feel its teeth tightening around my flesh, and I begin to panic. There's a shout, and I'm screaming, trying to shake the creature off my leg.

"Kagome!"

Arms flailing wildly, I smash my sword into the zombie's head, stilling its movements.

"Dammit!"

Inuyasha probably thought I had gotten bitten, because he throws the zombie away from our campfire and takes me into his arms.

"Kagome," he whispers. In the corner of my eye, I can see Kikyo pouting, and I stifle a giggle.

"I'm fine," I reply, shaking him off a little, but his grip only tightens.

"Kagome, this is serious! You could have gotten bitten!"

He knows I wasn't bitten. So then why is he making such a big deal out of it?

I blush a little, but then start inwardly scolding myself. _Not the time to be acting like a schoolgirl, Kagome!_

"I'm okay! I was careless!"

Inuyasha looks pained for a minute before releasing me. He places a swift kiss on my cheek, not going unnoticed by the members of our group.

My cheeks redden again, probably more than they should.

"Be careful, dumbass," he says firmly, scowling at me. I can see Kikyo smirking at me, obviously because she thinks Inuyasha is now mad at me.

If she had known Inuyasha as long as I have, she'd know that his actions were affectionate over anything else.

I worried him, that's all.

I smile up at him reassuringly, and his eyes soften a bit before he turns away completely and returns to his seat by the campfire.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Sango asks me, worry evident in her gaze. Miroku turns to look at me expectantly, too, and my cheeks flush once more from all the attention.

"I'm fine, I promise," I say, smiling at my friends.

They nod, albeit a bit hesitantly, before they, too, turn back to the campfire.

 **Scene Change**

"Here."

Inuyasha reluctantly hands Kikyo the matchbox, teaching her how to light a match because she asked him to.

 _More like begged_ , I think bitterly to myself.

The girl had practically snuggled herself up right next to him not a few minutes ago, requesting that he teach her how to light a match after breakfast.

When he agreed, she refused to let go of his arm the entire time.

Little witch.

I glare at her from my spot across the campfire.

Hey, it's not that I _like_ Inuyasha or anything. It's just that he's my best friend, and Kikyo has obviously taken a liking to him.

He can date anyone he wants.

Just not Kikyo.

Inuyasha glances up at me and catches my cold stare towards the woman attached to his arm like a leech, and he smirks.

" _Jealous?"_ he mouths toward me, and I blush slightly before shaking my head violently and turning away.

Like I said - I don't like him. I don't.

We're just best friends. And we have more of a brother-sister relationship.

 _Though I wish it was more than that._

What?

"Ow! Goddammit, Kikyo!"

Startled, I'm jolted from my daydreaming as Inuyasha shakes his hand, his thick eyebrows creased in pain and his mouth in a grimace.

"I'm so sorry, Inu-kins!" Kikyo cries out, dropping the lit match and matchbox, and _finally_ letting go of Inuyasha's arm - to both mine and his relief, it looks like - only to grab his hand instead.

I rush from my spot to grab the match and blow it out so it doesn't cause the entire matchbox to catch fire as well. Stupid Kikyo, dropping it like that! We should probably learn how to start a fire with sticks only. After all, we're bound to run out of matches eventually.

Inuyasha rolls his eyes and blows at his bangs irritably. "Let go, Kikyo. It's just a burn."

"But it looks so sore!"

"It's fine." Rolling a pair of beautiful amber eyes for the last time and yanking his hand away, Inuyasha stands up, turns to me, and offers me his arm.

"So what should I do, doctor?"

I smile; Kikyo scowls.

He refers to me as _doctor_ because I've always wanted to follow in my mother's footsteps and become a physician.

As for my father?

Dad was a scientist.

As a kid, I would always accompany them to work since their parents either lived too far away or were too busy to take care of me. I'd go to Mom's clinic after dropping Dad off at his lab.

I never was allowed to go to work with Dad. I never saw his desk either, not even after he died. I never even knew what kind of work he specialized in.

Mom's clinic was kid-friendly and super nice, so I was allowed to help out when I got older, even getting paid at some point.

I guess you could consider it an internship, but not really. An intern doesn't get paid, but you know what I mean.

Well, anyway, because of working, I was able to learn a thing or two about the human body, injuries, and the proper way to treat them.

"The Do's and Don'ts of treating wounds", if you will.

I gently touch Inuyasha's hand and pull back as he winces. Flipping his arm over so that the entirety of the wound is exposed, I inspect it.

Luckily, Kikyo didn't fuck up _too_ bad, so I'm able to classify his injury as a mild burn. But burns are burns, and they're really fucking painful.

"Do you want gauze?"

He shakes his head.

"Alright. I took some Advil from the health room, so you can take it to ease the pain.. For now, just soak your arm in the stream."

He nods, and we're about to make our way there, before a bitter voice stops us in our tracks.

"I thought you said we couldn't travel alone, _doctor_ ," Kikyo spits at me. "You want him to die? Is that it?"

Ayame whacks Kikyo's shoulder, but Kikyo doesn't care, and it's too late. The words have already been said.

Everyone turns to her and sends her an equally bewildered look.

"Are you stupid?" I snarl, epically pissed off. And who wouldn't be? After being accused of wanting to kill off your best friend?

And, okay, _maybe_ crush.

"You bitch!" Sango seethes. "Kagome is _not_ like that!"

"Inuyasha and Kagome are best friends, have been for years," Miroku pipes up. "They've probably known each other for longer than you've been alive."

It's a joke, obviously, to break the tension, but no one laughs. In fact, I'm not sure Miroku was trying to be funny - he was simply making a point. Kikyo's eyes only narrow further, showing her obvious unhappiness about us being best friends.

Inuyasha crosses his arms, glaring at Kikyo.

"Say that again," he growls at her, "and I'll cut your fucking tongue out."

Kikyo's eyes well up with fake tears and her bottom lip trembles a _little_ too much.

 _Phony._

Inuyasha is the first to turn away, and he starts walking towards the stream, following his keen sense of hearing. I quickly follow after swiping the bottle of ibuprofen from my bag.

 **Scene Change**

"Jesus fucking Christ," Inuyasha snarls. "That girl is such a pain in the ass."

"I hate her, too," I reply. "She has no respect for anyone. She thinks she's all that and a bag of chips. Pitiful."

"Ayame as well," he adds. "She just follows Kikyo around like a little puppy-" he shoots me a glare when I send him a smirk - "and it's almost as if she doesn't have any of her own opinions."

"Yep. Just agrees with every little thing that comes out of Kikyo's mouth."

He nods.

"Actually," I admit, "I think, underneath the whole mask thing, she's actually quite humble and smart. She just chooses not to speak up. I think she's afraid of Kikyo or something."

We share a look, and I know that we are both remembering when Ayame whacked Kikyo's shoulder after she insulted me (again).

"Whatever," Inuyasha grumbles. "It's not as if she stuck up for you or anything. Honestly."

I roll my eyes. "It wasn't that big of a deal. I've dealt with bigger and better things than Kikyo, anyway. And a timid follower never hurt anyone."

He shrugs, and after removing his arm from the stream, wipes his arm on his shirt, mindful of his burn.

"Any ice?"

I shake my head. "Don't put ice on a burn."

He looks confused. "But I thought that helped?"

"Contrary to popular belief, no, it doesn't," I tell him. "I mean, yeah, the ice will ease the initial pain but it'll slow the healing process and will damage the - who even gives a shit, just don't put ice on your burn, okay?"

Inuyasha smirks at me and nods.

I soak a cloth I had brought along with me with river water and instruct that he keep the cloth over his burn.

Before we begin walking back to camp, I pull out the bottle I brought and give him some Advil (two of them), which he takes without effort.

 **Scene Change**

"NO! GODDAMMIT, KIKYO!"

We walk back to camp to find Sango screeching.

At the sound of her scream, Kikyo flinches and throws the slightly burning stick into the air, and it falls on Miroku's head.

Miroku opens his mouth in a silent scream before frantically brushing the stick off his head.

The small amount of burning stick had intensified when it made contact with his head. His hair is now on fire.

Miroku's _hair_ is on _fire._

"NOOOOO!" he cries, runs around and flails his arms in the air dramatically before falling to the ground.

Everyone's laughing so hard we can't breathe.

Except for Kikyo.

She just looks confused as to why everyone's laughing while someone's hair is on fire. Obviously, she doesn't have our sense of humor.

Not that I mind much.

"Ha! Haha!" To try to fit in, Kikyo's forcing out some laughter. It just makes us laugh harder at her pathetic attempt to seem cool, and by this time, Inuyasha and I are rolling around on the ground.

Cause and effect, kids.

Inuyasha and I collide into each other while rolling around, and our heads come forward and bang into each other.

" _Sonofabitch!"_

Inuyasha and I sit up, holding our throbbing heads, and starting laughing all over again after seeing each other's horrified faces.

We both lean forward, and I find our heads on each other's shoulders. We're still laughing.

Kikyo frowns at our close proximity, but neither Inuyasha nor I comment on it - we're too busy laughing.

Sango and Miroku are just about dead. Sango's face is redder than Inuyasha's shirt, and she's practically wheezing with laughter. Miroku has long extinguished the fire on his head and is now laughing with Sango, his singed hair barely noticeable in the midst of the billions of midnight black strands of hair on his head.

We keep laughing.

Miroku is _never_ going to be able to live this down.

 **a/n: haha, i can actually see this happening! poor Miroku.**

 **oh, also - about the whole** _ **no-ice-on-a-burn**_ **thing, it's true. yes, putting ice on your burn will ease the initial pain, but it will slow the healing process and can (and probably will) cause frostbite and damage the skin, thereby worsening the burn.**

 **don't put petroleum jelly or Vaseline on a burn either, because those will seal in the burn and will, in a nutshell, also worsen the injury. you can do some research to find better results, like what was featured in this fic.**

 **thanks so much for reading, and please review! ^^**

 **じゃね** **,**

 **shadow**


	4. Ayame's Choice

_**~ How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse ~**_

 _Ayame's Choice_

 **disclaimer: i own nothing :(**

After hours of laughing and joking, we finally manage to settle down. It's still late morning; according to the watch around Inuyasha's wrist, it's still roughly around 9:00 AM.

"Good, it's still kinda early. Is anyone hungry for lunch?"

No one speaks up, so I continue. "Alright then. If you're hungry, don't be afraid to speak up. If you don't eat, you'll be weak. If you're weak, you'll be slow. If you're slow, you'll die." **(a/n: last sentence is quoted [directly, i believe] from 'Kubo and the Two Strings'.)**

I say this bluntly, to make sure everyone gets the hint. When I see that they do, I ask Inuyasha, "So what's the game plan?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. We can stay here until stuff runs out, I guess, or if we're attacked or whatnot."

"Alright, sounds good. Let's just prepare for the next attack for now, alright? Everyone start tending to your weapons. Don't want them to become dull."

" _Stay close to camp,"_ Sango adds. "Don't wander off, especially not on your own, unless you want to die. Because if we come back and you're not here, don't expect us to look for you. 'Cause we won't."

With that, everyone makes their way towards their weapons and begins working on them. Miroku and Sango are wiping their bats down with their shirts as best they can. Since the bats are pretty much pure metal, they don't dent easily (in fact, I doubt they'll dent at all), so they don't need to worry about repair.

Inuyasha and I are sharpening our swords using some rocks we found by the stream. The rocks we're using work well, so we decide to bring at least one or two small ones to bring with us. As of right now there are no scratches on our swords. It was by pure luck that the instructors decided to purchase new ones, so we were very fortunate to have found them.

As for Kikyo and Ayame? Well, Kikyo, of course, brought unnecessary items such as makeup products - honestly, who's gonna be looking at the acne on your face when we have a more dire situation at hand? - and nail filers. Everyone had unanimously agreed that she'd be carrying her own shit and if it began to slow her down, she'd either need to throw them out or be left behind.

"Everyone" meaning Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and I.

Ayame, however, who is obviously the smarter one - or maybe simply the less dimwitted one, neither Inuyasha nor I can figure out which one - of the duo, brought relevant items with her. She has her own weapons at least, a few daggers that she had taken from her own locker before finding herself trapped in the science room and meeting us. She also has a bunch of snacks in her bag, so those would come in handy.

Ayame is currently inspecting her knives, doing a little bit of cleaning, as she hasn't used them once since bringing them along with her. She's also talking to Kikyo, who is applying a redundant amount of makeup.

"Alright, is everyone done?" Inuyasha asks the group. He receives four nods and one shake of the head.

Bet you can't guess who the odd man out is.

"Hold on - give me, like, two seconds!" Kikyo says. "My eyeliner's uneven."

Inuyasha clenched his fist. "Well, hurry it up. We don't have all day. Zombies are infesting the area. _We need to go._ Now."

She ignored him.

 _She ignored him!_

And suddenly, I was done.

Like, _done._

" _Eyeliner_? Are you kidding me? Can you say 'first world problems'?" I spit at her, having lost my temper. Kikyo is pointedly ignoring me as well, now applying highlighter on her cheeks. "We are out in the open, pretty much sitting ducks, waiting for zombies to attack us. No one cares what your face looks like right now, Kikyo - we're in the middle of a fucking apocalypse. Get over yourself."

I must have struck a cord somewhere, because Kikyo snaps her highlighter palette shut - which, I have to admit, is gorgeous - and glares heatedly at me.

"HURRY UP!" we yell at her in unison, and Kikyo jumps, startled, before collecting her makeup and shoving it into her bag. Large chunks of sparkly makeup fall out before she can zip it shut.

"Ugh, look what you've done!" she wails. "My highlighter is, like, totally destroyed now! Do you know how expensive-"

I can practically _feel_ the steam blowing out of my ears like a freight train. _"No one gives a flying fuck about your stupid makeup! Now stop complaining and hurry it up before we leave you behind!"_

My words shock her into silence. Satisfied, I spin on my heel and walk away. Inuyasha immediately follows, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Without thinking, Sango and Miroku hurriedly make their way after us, grabbing their belongings before following as well, bats gripped tightly in both of their hands.

Ayame looks at us, then back at Kikyo. I can tell she's torn between her best friend and safety. However, at the end of the day, I know she is a smart girl, and that she'll come to a worthwhile conclusion.

And what do you know - she proves me right. Sending one last longing look at Kikyo, Ayame turns away and catches up with us.

She grins, and we can't help but smile in return. Despite this girl's previous relationship with Kikyo, we can already tell that it will be a beautiful friendship.

 **a/n: wow this took me like ten years to write. it's okay. it's done now. enjoy! :)**

 **shadow**


	5. Panic

_Summary:_

 _AU. Slightly OOC. Kagome Higurashi used to be such an innocent 15-year-old. When the zombie apocalypse hits, it takes everyone by surprise. She and her friends need to work together to escape the undead. Will they ever find love in such an environment, or will they get infected first?_

* * *

 **~ How To Survive a Zombie Apocalypse ~**

 _panic_

* * *

As Ayame walks with us, Kikyo lingers in the back, muttering to herself.

"Do you think she's okay?" I ask Inuyasha, who is walking next to me. He rolls his eyes.

"Do you care?"

I shut my mouth after that, because… well, not really.

I am a terrible, terrible person.

Inuyasha chuckles when he sees my reaction. I can sense Kikyo's eyes boring holes into the back of my head. My best friend nudges me slightly, and I know what he's referring to.

Kikyo clears her throat.

"Inuyasha? I know you said no earlier," she begins, "but I was wondering if you were still up for that date?" She snidely looks me up and down before batting her eyelashes at him.

I am furious, but I don't say anything.

"Yeah, uhh… I think I'm good," Inuyasha says, shaking his head and pulling his arm out of her iron grip, and also looking at _me_ for some reason?

"Come on, pleeease?" Kikyo pleads with him. "I can be the… the… the kitten to your puppy!"

I gag. Inuyasha glances and me and snorts.

"You should probably stop," Sango says to Kikyo, smirking a bit. "It seems this puppy's got a kitten of his own."

"What?" Inuyasha looks confused, as does Kikyo.

"Nothing." Sango wordlessly winks at me after she turns around. I blush.

"Stop," I mouth to her, but she just shrugs, smiling evilly.

* * *

"Kikyo, do you know how to cook fish?"

She looks at me critically, as if the answer were obvious. "No…?"

I turn around without a word and prepare it by myself. I should've known she wouldn't know.

God, she is _such_ a burden.

Inuyasha has gone with Miroku to find food for us to eat. Sango, Kikyo, Ayame, and I stay behind and kept an eye on our camp.

They came back recently and dumped a bucket of fish for us to cook, then disappeared again. They've been gone for around ten minutes now.

Is it weird that I'm already worried?

I guess Sango could read me better than I thought, because she places a comforting hand on my shoulder, startling me. I jump, turning around to face her.

"Don't worry, Kagome," she says, smiling at me a little. "They'll be back before you know it."

"How'd you…" I don't have to finish my sentence - Sango understands.

"Your hands are shaking," she says quietly. I look down, and sure enough, they tremble violently. Why am I suddenly so hot? A bead of sweat drips down my face, and I bring up a shaking hand to wipe it off.

My heart begins hammering in my chest as a million thoughts race through my head. _What if they're dead? What if they were attacked? Did they bring weapons with them? I hope they brought weapons with them… Oh no, what if they were killed by another human being because they thought our boys were zombies? What if the fish grew to the size of a fucking whale and ate them? What if they started eating the fish before they got cooked and now they've got food poisoning and are out in the open throwing up and-_

"Kagome!"

When did my chest start to hurt? When had my head begun to pound? I can feel myself trembling even more than before.

The fear had started as a knot in my stomach, but by now it's moving up into my chest. My heart pounds. My head spins.

The panic wells up in my throat. I need to throw up.

"Kagome! Are you okay?"

I'm not even aware of the tears running down my face or my hyperventilating until a soft hand brushes the trails of salt away.

"Hey, Kagome. Kagome, listen to me." The voice is soft, comforting. "Relax. You're gonna be okay, I promise. I promise. Just take deep breaths."

I do as the voice says. The person holds my hand tightly and presses another to my back, urging me to just breathe.

 _Inhale, two, three, four. Exhale, two, three, four._

"Okay, Kagome. Find one thing you can taste, two things you can see, and three things you can touch."

 _Okay. Okay._ I can taste the fish I just ate. I can see Sango, the voice, holding my hand. I see Ayame, eyeing me worriedly. Things I can touch… how many again? Ah, jeez. Oh right, three! Uh… Sango's hand… my… the… oh no.

As I find myself unable to think of anything I can touch, the panic comes back, and Sango grips my hand tighter.

"Forget it, Kagome. Forget it. I'm sorry. Just look at me, and take deep breaths. Deep breaths. Come on. You can do it."

So I do. I take deep breaths. Sango wipes the tears falling from my cheeks and continues to tell me to breathe.

Finally, after what feels like hours, I can feel the panic slowly dissipating. My breath starts to even out, my body starts to cool down. I welcome a wave of relief that washes over me.

 _Thank God._

I feel exhausted now, though. Almost as if the panic drained the life out of me.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Sango asks.

I face her and force a smile. "I'm okay now, I think. Thank you."

"Of course," she replies, giving me a look that says, _We're talking about this later._

With that, she walks away, seeming to know that I want some time alone.

* * *

Sango takes a seat in front of me, setting her bat down gently.

The sound of the river next to us is calming, and I close my eyes for a bit, enjoying it.

We're a few meters away from camp, after Sango asked to talk to me privately.

"Kagome, I've been thinking about what happened yesterday and I think I know what it was. Are you up to talk about it?"

I nod, fidgeting with my hands. I've been anxious all day, and restless. The panic that drained the energy from me yesterday is completely gone, and now I can't seem to stop moving.

I can't stop thinking about what will happen if something like that happens again and there's no one around to help me.

Suddenly I have developed a fear of being alone.

Maybe we shouldn't talk about this after all… but it's too late, because Sango is ready to talk and I already said yes… shit.

"Okay." Sango takes a deep breath. "I already have my suspicions as to what it was, but I'd like to ask you a few questions just to make sure."

I nod my consent, and Sango begins practically interrogating me. I feel much like a patient, answering my doctor's questions.

After a while, Sango's questionnaire ends, and she looks me in the eye.

"Kagome, I think you had a panic attack."

A what? I've only heard of those in books.

"I can't possibly be having those," I told her, shaking my head immediately.

"No, Kagome, you have to listen to me," she says, looking at me in concern. "I really do think it was a panic attack. And they can happen to anybody. Just because you have it once doesn't mean you have the disorder." She stops. "Was that your first one?"

"I think so."

"Let's hope you were just feeling extremely overwhelmed that day then."

"Yeah."

There's a silence, and then Sango reaches over to take my hand into hers gently.

"I'm always here for you if you need anything, alright?"

I nod.

"Do you want me to do anything for you?"

I'm about to shake my head, and then stop, rethinking.

"Actually, yes… is it okay if you don't let me be alone while the apocalypse is going on? I'm afraid - terrified - that I'm going to have another panic attack. If you weren't there to calm me down yesterday, I probably would have completely lost it, gone missing, or died. I'm scared of being alone because I don't want to have another attack while everyone else is away from camp, or I'm the only one away from camp. And I want either you, Miroku, or Inuyasha to be with me. I don't trust Ayame or Kikyo."

I'm a bit embarrassed that I have just rambled to her about my fear, but I don't regret it.

She nods. "Of course. I don't trust them either; I understand. Do you want to tell Miroku and Inuyasha?"

"Tell only Miroku," I tell her. I'm not sure I want Inuyasha to know yet.

* * *

Sango and I walk from the river back to camp, where everyone is waiting for us.

Inuyasha gives me a worried look. _Are you okay?_

I send him a reassuring smile, to which he nods and turns back to the fire.

"You're just in time," Miroku says. "We just finished preparing the rest of the fish. Have some."

Sango and I thank them before sitting down on the logs surrounding the fire. I find myself sitting next to Inuyasha, Sango next to Miroku, and Kikyo next to Ayame.

Kikyo is - surprise, surprise - glaring at me from across the fire. I just ignore her in favor of eating the fish, which is cooked perfectly. Miroku is an excellent cook. He should think about going to culinary school after he graduates from high school. I tell him this.

"Nah," he says. "Cooking is more of a hobby than something I'd want to pursue as a career. Thank you though."

I shrug, going back to my fish.

Inuyasha suddenly rotates slightly in his seat before leaning against me to eat his fish. His head ends up propped up against my shoulder and I can feel his back pressing against my side. My face heats up, and I dutifully avoid looking at Sango, who I _know_ is smirking at me.

"What're you doing?" I ask him. He shrugs.

"Getting comfortable," he replies through a mouthful of fish.

I shake my head and go back to eating my fish, pretending to be completely okay with the new position.

I guess Kikyo finally snapped, because she jumps up from her seat, glaring at me furiously.

"How dare you?" she yells at me. "Inuyasha is _my man!_ It's so low of you to just steal him from me like that!"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," I tell her calmly, waving my fish-kabob at her. "He's not your man. I can't steal something that was never yours."

Kikyo's face turns red. Miroku snickers quietly before trying to hide it with a cough. Sango grins, not looking up from her fish. Inuyasha settles more heavily against me.

In response, I lean my head on his, and wrap my arms around him. He stiffens a bit, so I think about retracting my arms, but then he relaxes, and continues to eat his fish.

 _Hell yeah - go me._ I'm mentally cheering.

Maybe it was petty. Maybe I just did it to make Kikyo angier.

But whatever the reason for that was, it was also because I just wanted to do it since he started using me as a pillow.

"Oh my God," Kikyo snarls. "That's such a hoe move, Kagome."

I just smile sweetly at her. _Kiss my ass._

Inuyasha growls, a gutteral, threatening sound, and finally sits up. Immediately my body feels cold, having lost his warmth.

"Don't say something like that," he snarls at her, glaring right back at her. "I was the one who leaned against her - she didn't initiate anything. It's none of your business anyway."

She pouts, but doesn't sit down. Instead, she fights back. "Either way, you're still my boyfriend. I'm hurt by your intimate contact with her, but it's okay, I forgive you. Just promise to take me out on a date once this is all over and you cut her out of your life?"

She flashes him a perfect, white smile, all teeth. I stop myself from thinking she has a pretty smile. And then I notice it's fake, because her eyes don't crinkle at the corners like they're supposed to.

Suddenly her smile doesn't look as beautiful anymore.

Inuyasha rolls his eyes, shooting her another death glare. "I'm not _your_ anything. I don't even _like_ you. I don't need your forgiveness, and I would rather die than take you out on a date, thank you. I'm not even going to bring up cutting Kagome out of my life, because that's completely out of the question. Period."

Kikyo gapes at him, and turns on me, furious. I can only shrug.

"Sorry - His Majesty has spoken."

Inuyasha casts me an annoyed look, and I giggle.

"Fine, Inuyasha! Be that way! But you know what? Once you're done fooling around with that… that _slut_ , you'll realize how much better a choice _I_ am, and you'll come running after me in no time! I still forgive you, and I'll still love you. I'll give you time, because I know you're just confused and would never actually go after someone like Kagome if your life was at stake."

She finishes her monologue by blowing him a kiss and happily proceeding to paint her nails.

I want to take that bottle and shove it down her throat.

From the looks of it, Sango does, too.

"Don't slut-shame people," I tell her. "That's so disrespectful."

"I didn't slut-shame anyone," Kikyo says, to which I respond, "You literally just said, 'once you're done fooling around with that slut'! How you think that's not slut-shaming is beyond me."

"It wasn't slut-shaming because I didn't say it to your face!"

"What kind of…? Okay, so using your logic, if I were to call Sango a cunt behind her back, that doesn't mean I'm talking shit because I didn't say it to her face, right?"

"Right!"

"I actually - you know what, I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you. It's fine. Sorry I said anything." With that, I just take a deep breath and continue to eat my fish.

"Oh my God, there she goes again!" Kikyo snarls. I look up startled, as does everyone else.

"What? There who does what again?" Miroku asks her. Kikyo wordlessly flings an accusing finger in my direction. I flinch.

"What the hell did she do?" Inuyasha has stood up and stalked over to Kikyo, who is pointedly ignoring him in favor of glaring at me.

My heart starts to pound again as I become hyper-aware of the fact that everyone's eyes are now on _me._

 _Why? Stop looking at me! Why did she have to call me out?_

"Don't do that," I tell her, my voice suddenly very quiet.

Not threatening, as everyone else would have expected. No, my voice has become timid, and weak. Even I am surprised as I touch two fingers to my throat.

Oh, now I've done it. Because now everyone's eyes are _definitely_ on me, and I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable with all the attention.

Suddenly I am hit with the urge to escape as fast as I can.

 _I need to get away from here._

I start to sweat, and my hands start shaking. I grab one of them and start rubbing them against each other to try to stop the trembling, but it doesn't work much… in fact, it makes them tremble even more, somehow.

Immediately Inuyasha knows something is wrong, and walks right back to my side, grabs my hand, lifts me up, and with me in tow, flees into the depths of the trees.

* * *

 **a/n: a slightly lengthy one. i hope this turned out okay. this is definitely not my best piece but i've been trying to get back into writing now. i'm becoming more focused on my schoolwork, however, so i'll be very busy. however i'll try my best to continue to upload.**

 **as always, please review and let me know what you think!**

 **пока,**

 **shadow**


End file.
